Driving better habits

It’s the electronic equivalent of having your mom (or perhaps more darkly, Big Brother) riding along with you in the passenger seat.

DriveAdvisor, which is being tested in a pilot program in Rhode Island, will be coming to Massachusetts soon through Webster-based MAPFRE Insurance Group, parent company of Commerce Insurance Co.

DriveAdvisor uses telematics technology (telecommunications plus information) to monitor a driver’s driving habits. Drivers can then log onto a Web page, which is also accessible by the insurance company, and compare scores.

Easily installed without a mechanic, the 2-inch-by-2-inch device stores and transmits data on how a vehicle is operated, including information on acceleration, braking, vehicle speed, and number of miles driven.

Customers using DriveAdvisor receive confidential feedback online about their driving behavior, and a personalized report shows drivers their performance and progress over time and offers ways to improve safe driving.

“We just introduced it in Rhode Island last month, and we are looking to roll it out as quickly as we can in Massachusetts. We are hoping by 2013-2014,” said Patrick McDonald, MAPFRE senior vice president of marketing.

Drivers who use the DriveAdvisor will receive a 5 percent discount on their car insurance.

Without in-depth information on the company’s intentions, some would-be users may instantly adopt the fear that “Big Brother is watching.”

But Mr. McDonald said that feedback from users so far has been positive.

People have found uses for it that have nothing to do with giving up their autonomy or privacy, he said.

“If you are the parent of a teenage driver, certainly there is a huge benefit to keeping an eye on their driving habits,” he said.

Parents can then guide their children to correct any problems, he said, and furthermore, with teens and adults alike, knowing that their driving behavior will be monitored and recorded is often a huge motivator to avoid careless mistakes.

Whether keeping tabs on their teens’ driving habits or using it as something of a real-life video game by comparing scores in a household of drivers at the end of the day, he said, consumers are simply enjoying watching the numbers.

And of course, there’s that little matter of getting that discount on their insurance premiums.

“Certainly, there is some self-selection, where better drivers are more likely to participate,” Mr. McDonald said. “The intent of this program is educational, where customers have online access to their driving results and can compare their results to others.”

But one of the main concerns for skeptics is whether a series of unfortunate events on the road could lead to a more unfortunate event; namely, being dropped by the insurance company for having one too many road infractions.

For Mr. McDonald, concerns like this are not a factor at this point.

“At this time, we will use the data in aggregate to better understand driving habits,” he said, explaining that people might be able to identify problems with their driving and take immediate steps to correct it, which would benefit the driver and the insurer.

“At some time in the future, usage-based underwriting-pricing might be the industry practice,” he said. “However, I don’t suspect this will occur in the short term.”

The device comes to MAPFRE from The Evogi Group, according to Mr. McDonald. Evogi tested and evaluated telematics devices from leading manufacturers, integrating its choices into its usage-based insurance and fleet solutions, according to its website, evogi.com.

For now, executives at MAPFRE are content to offer DriveAdvisor as a tool people can choose to use to save a little money and perhaps save the insurance company a lot more money in the long run.

“Our goal is to improve driver behavior and roadway safety by providing our customers with meaningful driving performance feedback through the DriveAdvisor program,” said Jaime Tamayo, president and chief executive officer of MAPFRE Insurance, adding that the company is pleased to be able to offer it to their customers.

Added Mr. McDonald, “It is something people can choose to do or not do. As far as we’re concerned, there is no downside to this program.”

For more information, contact a local Commerce Insurance Co. agent, or visit www.mapfreinsurance.com.

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